High 2 · Reading series
Lesson 12 · The Group Chat after Midnight
Audio track 12
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Our project group shared ideas in a chat. It was efficient until messages began arriving after midnight. I muted my phone, but the next morning I found twenty new decisions and a question: “Why didn't you answer?”
At the meeting I admitted that I needed sleep before school. One member worried that fixed hours would slow the project. Another had a part-time job and could only write late. We realized that the problem was not simply the time of a message; it was the expectation of an immediate reply.
We agreed to post ideas whenever convenient, but to make decisions at our afternoon meetings. Urgent changes would be marked clearly, and no one had to explain a delayed response at night. Our work became calmer without stopping.
The chat had made communication possible across different schedules. A boundary made that possibility fairer. Saying when I could reply was not a rejection of the group; it helped us work together longer.
Check your understanding
After reading, state the main idea in one sentence and find a line that supports it.
Chinese translation
项目组用群聊交流想法。起初很高效，直到消息开始在午夜后接连出现。我把手机设为静音，第二天早上却发现多了二十项新决定，还有一句‘你为什么不回答？’
开会时，我坦白说上学前需要睡觉。一名组员担心固定发消息的时间会拖慢项目；另一人有兼职，只能深夜写消息。我们意识到，问题不只是消息何时发出，而是大家是否期待立刻得到回复。
我们约定，方便时随时可以发想法，但决定留到下午会议再做。紧急改动要明确标记，谁也不必解释为何夜里没有回复。工作没有停，气氛却平和多了。
群聊让不同时间表的人能够交流。划清回复边界，则让这种交流更公平。说清自己什么时候能答复，并非拒绝小组，而是帮助大家更长久地合作。
Key words and expressions
Key terms have Chinese explanations. Hover over dotted words in the English passage for word help and pronunciation when available.
- efficient
- 高效的；群聊最初让沟通方便。
- muted
- 设为静音；主人公夜里不接收提醒。
- admitted
- 坦白；说明需要睡眠。
- fixed hours
- 固定时段；一人担心影响进度。
- expectation
- 期待；真正争议在于是否立刻回复。
- immediate
- 即时的；无需夜里马上答复。
- convenient
- 方便的；成员可按个人时间发想法。
- urgent
- 紧急的；重要改动要标清。
- boundary
- 边界；约定何时需要答复。
- rejection
- 拒绝；晚回消息并不等于退出合作。
Background notes (Chinese)
异步交流允许成员在不同时间留言，但‘随时发’不等于‘必须随时回’。小组把想法收集与正式决定分开，兼顾不同作息。